OK, the next part of my review of the best kids music of 2010 focuses on debuts. I can't even say that I'd thought about this seriously until Warren Truitt put together his list of top debuts of 2008. But I don't think he did it last year, so since I abhor vacuuming (or a vacuum), I'm going to appropriate the idea. While there are a couple of exceptions, for the most part we didn't know about these bands twelve months ago. And there was a fair amount of competition for these slots -- I could've expanded this to a Top 15 list fairly easily. In addition to quality of music, I'm also thinking about intangibles -- does their entire approach suggest that they could have a large fanbase and a Top 10 overall album 5 years from now as well? (Some of them do right now.) It wouldn't surprise me if that were the case with any of these artists. I should note that by using the word "debut," I'm assuming that this isn't the last family music album from each of these artists. Albums from Haley Bonar, Keller Williams, and Essie Jain, for example, would've been considered for this list, but I made the assumption that their family albums would be their sole foray into the genre. I would be happy to be proven wrong. Anyway, here's ten debut albums (listed alphabetically by artist) worth celebrating. Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem - Ranky Tanky: Why Rani Arbo and not Keller Williams? Do I have any inside information that would suggest that this fine album, a worthy companion to many of Dan Zanes' albums drawing deep from many musical wells, is just the beginning? No, not really. So consider this a hopeful wink and nudge to the fine quartet from New England. We'd like more of this, please.

My first entry in my list of the best kids music of 2010 is something I've pondered for awhile, and that's album packaging. I know that Jeff over at Out With the Kids has already posted a similar list, but his is as much about album cover art as the whole packaging. I love that Pop Ups cover art, but there's not much to the packaging beyond that. (Except, of course, for the music itself, which is awesome.) While I wouldn't call my entry into the digital world as "being dragged kicking and screaming," any long-term reader here would recognize I still have a 20th-century predilection for the physical object. And my kids still listen to musical using CDs, not iPods. So consider these ten albums as examples why your iPhone and iPod and iPad can't replace your CD collection just yet. And if you're looking for something more than a download code to put into someone's stocking or birthday pile, these will do nicely. Randy Kaplan - The Kids Are All Id: I tend to prefer lyrics in my liner notes, but with notes as offbeat (yet illuminating) as Kaplan's, I'm willing to make an exception. Plus, the packaging is gorgeous, with some silly illustrations to keep the kids amused.